Prof. Caleb Humphreys

ENGLISH 1302-009 MONDAY 11-12:20

WELCOME• Sign in and take a notecard.

WELCOME TO 1302! • Please talk (quietly) to your classmates. Get to know each other.

ABOUT ME… • Caleb Humphreys

• I am from Atlanta, Georgia.

• I am studying Creative Writing (Fiction) here at Tech.

• I graduated from Troy University in Troy, Alabama.

• Any questions about me?

ON YOUR NOTECARD… • Name

• Email (TTU and other)

• Major/Minor, Academic Interest

• Favorite Movie or Musical Artist

• Something interesting about you

• Concerns about this course

CONCERNS• What terrible rumors have you heard about 1302?

• What are your concerns?

COURSE OVERVIEW• In English 1302, we will study rhetoric as it applies to researched writing. In addition to several

Brief Assignments, we will be working on two longer assignments and revisions of those assignments.

• These drafts will be: 1) a literature review and 2) a researched argument.

• Whereas English 1301 primarily focused on rhetoric and critical reading, 1302 expands on these skills by focusing on works of scholarly research and the methods of university-level researched writing.

• Pacing of course is much faster than 1301.

• A literature review, in most disciplines, is a paper that attempts to connect the arguments and methodologies concerning a particular problem or topic in a given field. A literature review is focused on accurately synthesizing the arguments of others in context with one another. Meaning, a literature review examines multiple articles and researchers’ views on a subject and demonstrates explicitly “how” those arguments overlap. A literature review refers to the available conversation on a scholarly topic and seeks to find the pattern in past and current research.

• A researched argument, conversely, takes a stance and pushes an audience toward a particular action or view; it employs research as a means to support its reasoning and claims. A well-researched argument should be formal in nature and draw from quality, scholarly sources that have been vetted and are appropriate for the argument’s logic.

• There are examples of both of these assignments in the back of your textbook.

COURSE SCHEDULE (AT-A-GLANCE) • February 20 (Friday) – Literature Review Draft 1.1 due

• March 13 – Draft 1.2 due

• March 14-22 – Spring Break

• April 6 – No Class

• April 10 – Researched Argument Draft 1.1 due

• May 1 – Researched Argument 2.2 due

• May 4 – Last 1302 Class

ASSIGNMENTS • Each Brief Assignment (BA) will build to one of the larger drafts.

• BA2 – Synthesis of Sources

• BA3 – Annotated Bibliography

• Literature Review

• BA4 – Sentence Level Revision

• Draft 2 of Lit. Review

• BA5 – Analysis of Logic and Assumptions

• Researched Argument

• BA6 – Revising for Sources

• Draft 2 of Research Paper

REQUIRED TEXT(S)

• First Year Writing: Writing in the Disciplines (8th Edition, 2014-2015).

• You need to buy this book as soon as possible. It is, however, the same book used for 1301. So, if you took 1301 in the fall then you don’t need to buy another book.

• The St. Martin’s Handbook, 8e, electronic version.

• The current edition of The St. Martin’s Handbook can be purchased either at the bookstore or directly through Bedford: http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/ttu.php. Please purchase the electronic version, as it has special features we will use in this course.

COURSE POLICIES • Attendance is mandatory. You are allowed two absences, but

please use these for emergencies (note the Attendance section on page xxiii).

• “After your second absence, 5% of your final grade will be deducted for each additional absence”

• Don’t cheat.

• Computers, tablets, phones, etc. are permitted in the classroom but use them for this class. You’re here for 80 minutes a week. Be here, don’t be checking Facebook, etc.

LATE PENALTIES

• Due dates are firm. Make sure you get your work in on time. • All online assignments are due by 11:59pm on Fridays.

• 1-3 days late: 5 pts per day

• 4+ days: 10 pts per day

• 99% of 1302 students who had perfect attendance and turned all of their work in on time passed with a C or better.

COURSE BLOG • Humphreys1302.wordpress.com

• Syllabus, assignment materials, weekly Power Points, contact information, etc.

HYBRID COURSE • This is a hybrid course. We will only meet once a week for a

little over an hour. Therefore, half of the class is taught here and the other half is online.

• You are responsible for completing and staying current with the outside coursework.

ASSIGNMENTS

• As a hybrid class, there is more outside work. • Average assignments (per semester) in 12 th grade English – 75

• Average assignments in 1301 - 30

• Estimated number of assignments in this course – 16-18

• 6 Brief Assignments

• 4 Peer Critiques

• Literature Review (2 drafts)

• Researched Argument (2 drafts)

• End of Semester Writing Review

• 3-5 homework assignments (from me)

GRADING • I am your Classroom Instructor (CI).

• All of your Raider Writer submissions will be graded by a group of anonymous graders (graduate students).

RAIDER WRITER• This is the online portion of the class.

• You have (or will) receive an email (to your @ttu address) with instructions for setting up your account.

• You have to set up your Raider Writer account within 48 hours.

• Grading is anonymous… Do NOT include your name on any Raider Writer submissions. Points will be deducted for this.

• What Raider Writer looks like: https://raiderwriter.engl.ttu.edu

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES• The Writing Center: uwc.ttu.edu

• Located in RM.175 of the English/Philosophy Building. To set up an appointment, call (806) 742-2476.

• Study Sessions (dates TBA)

• Me.

HOW TO CONTACT ME… • caleb.humphreys@ttu.edu

• Course blog: humphreys1302.wordpress.com

• I will post homework, Power Points, class announcements on this blog. Check it regularly.

• Office hours: Friday 10-12 in ENG 469 or by appointment.

BRIEF ASSIGNMENT 1 • Due Friday (1/30/15) by 11:59 pm.

• Purpose: BA1 has two parts. Part one is designed to give you an opportunity to reflect on your prior writing experiences and articulate them to your instructor. tell your instructor about your prior writing experiences and discuss what you see as your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Part two gives you an opportunity to practice the type of synthesis of sources expected in college courses.

PART 1• Description: To complete Part one, answer each of the following questions in paragraph

form, being as specific as possible as you discuss each topic:

• 1. What is your experience with academic writing? What types of writing have you done in the last few years—you might discuss high school, college-level, or workplace writing, for example. Also, be sure to include a discussion of your work in ENGL 1301 and how those assignments have assisted in strengthening your writing skills.

• 2. What do you think your strengths are as a writer? Your weaknesses? (Note that your e-handbook provides descriptions of many writing strengths and problems—refer to it if you need to in discussing your particular abilities). How do you intend to build on those strengths and overcome those weaknesses as you complete this course and write in other college courses? What are your goals for this class?

• Your response to Part one should be 250 – 300 words in length.

PART 2 • To complete Part two, read the following two essays in Chapter 16 of your textbook: “The

Myth of Helplessness” (pp. 477 – 83) and “What I Learned about School Reform” (pp. 494 – 501) and discuss how the ideas presented in each have impacted your own post-high school experiences, here at TTU or elsewhere. You’ll be writing a brief argument that synthesizes the content of these two sources in support of your discussion. The St. Martin's Handbook: Chapter 12e, "Synthesizing Sources" will help you with strategies for synthesizing your sources.

• Your response to Part two should be 400-500 words in length.

TIPS FOR BA 1 • This is homework assignment is a diagnostic. This assignment

will help me determine what I need to focus on in the coming weeks.

• Due at 11:59 on Friday.

• You may use the first person (I, my, me)

• Clearly address each part of the assignment. Each question needs to be answered.

• Use a professional tone and complete sentences. (Do not type this on your phone. Do not use text message lingo.)

MORE TIPS… • Use paragraphs to organize your writing. Do not

submit one giant block of text.

• Points will be deducted if the assignment is under the word count.

• Do not include your name on any Raider Writer submission. This helps the process maintain its integrity.

SYNTHESIS • Later in the semester, the synthesis essay will be one of the major assignments. For now,

you get the short version of the lesson.

• Synthesis = Blending of different voices/opinions.

• Basically, you want to take the main points from each article/essay and blend them together.

SYNTHESIS (CONTINUED)• Here is a really simple, really brief outline of synthesis for this assignment:

Person A believes __________. Similarly, Person B thinks ____________. I have experienced this....

• The word "similarly" here is important. Use words that link Person A's ideas to that of Person B's. This is what synthesis is.

• Use transition words to link one person’s idea to another. (See page 45 of textbook).

• https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/135/transw.html

… CONTINUED• Try to do a close reading of both essays and uncover their main ideas.

• Make an outline. Your response should blend these two outlines.

• Make sure you don't separate the sources in your response. Don't give Person A his own paragraph. Instead, continually compare and relate Person A to Person B (and then insert your opinion and experience).

HOMEWORK (TO TURN IN TO ME NEXT WEEK)• Come up with three different topics for the upcoming Literature Review that you are

interested in writing and researching.

• Be specific. Write 2-3 sentences explaining each topic and why you picked it.

• You will be working with one of these topics for the rest of the semester, so put some thought into it.

• Personal interests?

• Professional/academic interests?

• If you can’t think of any, there are some pre-approved topics on Raider Writer.

• Please do not select “hot-button” topics (e.g. abortion, video games and violence, gun-control, legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, obesity, immigration, etc.). These will not serve you well in the literature review.

TOPICS (CONTINUED)• A good literature review topic should be a) sufficiently narrow and b) researchable (have

scholarly articles written about it), so you might consider reading a few articles to help narrow down your topic: you might find that there isn’t any research over your concern, so start looking early. Use the TTU Library main-page and research database to look for peer-reviewed, scholarly articles.

• We’ll discuss research methods more next week.